THE PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES
Cairo, Alexandria & the Mediterranean
with Optional Nile River Cruise Extension
November 5 – 13, 2010

This tour will include hands on photography instruction from Ralph Velasco as well as hands on instruction in photo post-processing and using your photos on the internet from Chris Christensen of the Amateur Traveler.

Per person price based on double occupancy: $1,314.00
Price includes: land tour, sightseeing with a professional tour director, Photography Instruction with award-winning photographer and author Ralph Velasco, and all baggage handling while on tour. Air is available through Cosmos from LAX for $1,494 (plus air taxes) and would include round trip hotel transfers. Air can also be arranged independently if desired, and airport transfers purchased for $30. Air price based on group air, must have at least 10 passengers traveling from same gateway. Insurance & Travel Protection Plus are available for an additional $149.00 per person.

Day 1 Fri. BOARD YOUR OVERNIGHT TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT

Day 2 Sat. ARRIVE IN CAIRO, EGYPT Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore this exciting city. Later, meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers at a welcome dinner this evening. (D)

"Giza" by Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com

Day 3 Sun. CAIRO This morning, drive to the Giza Plateau to visit the three pyramids of Kings Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinos, as well as the Valley Temple with the Sphinx. In the afternoon, visit the National Egyptian Museum and listen to the historic commentary given by your Tour Director as you walk around the Halls. Also admire the treasure of the “Boy King,” Tutankhamun. Tonight, join the optional evening Nile dinner cruise with belly dancing and a folklore show. (B)

Day 4 Mon. CAIRO-ALEXANDRIA Discover the oldest part of the city, known as Coptic Cairo, originally a Roman fortress town called “Babylon.” Today, some of the Roman walls can still be seen. Next, visit the Citadel of Saladin with its beautiful mosque. Leave Cairo and drive north by way of the Agricultural Road through the Nile Delta area. Lunch is included en route. More vistas of the Egyptian countryside come alive before reaching Alexandria for two overnights. (B,L,D)

Day 5 Tue. ALEXANDRIA Alexandria, the “Pearl of the Mediterranean,” is the very essence of everything Egyptian-cosmopolitan, cultured, elegant, architecturally contrasting, effervescently alive, and, above all, conscious of its beauty and magnetism. On the included city sightseeing, see the catacombs, Pompey’s Pillar, and the new Alexandria library. Stop by the Fort of Qait, and enjoy a stroll around the gardens of the Montaza royal palace. Afternoon and evening are at leisure. (B)

Day 6 Wed. ALEXANDRIA-EL ALAMEIN-MARSA MATRUH AREA Drive along the Mediterranean coastal road for a stop in El Alamein, made famous by the decisive victory of the Allies during WWII. Visit the military museum and cemetery and enjoy the included lunch before heading toward the Marsa Matruh area for two overnights. (B,L,D)

Day 7 Thu. MARSA MATRUH AREA Marsa Matruh is a large waterfront town built around a charming bay of clear Mediterranen waters with clean, white sandy beaches. This morning, visit the Agiba Beach and Rommel’s Cave. The rest of the day is at leisure to soak up the atmosphere of this enchanting town. (B,D)

Day 8 Fri. MARSA MATRUH AREA-WADI EL NATRUN-CAIRO Experience completely different scenery today as you travel back to Cairo on the desert road. Stop in Wadi el Natrun, situated in a valley dotted with oases. Visit one of the Coptic monasteries of this area and learn about the Coptic faith. Arrive in Cairo in time for some last-minute shopping at the Khan-el-Khalili bazaar. (B)

Day 9 Sat. HOMEBOUND FLIGHT. (B)

OPTIONAL NILE CRUISE EXTENSION: For an additional $690.00 per person Day 1 – 8 Same as above itinerary.

Day 9 Sat. CAIRO-ASWAN (EMBARKATION) Early morning flight to Aswan. On arrival, enjoy the city sightseeing, including the Temple of Isis, which was transplanted from the submerged island of Philae. Also on the agenda: the High Dam-completed in 1970. Board your cruise ship, the HS Mövenpick Radamis II, in time for lunch. The afternoon is at leisure or join the optional Abu Simbel excursion. (B,L,D)

Day 10 Sun. NILE CRUISE Dock at Kom Ombo for a short walk to its bluff-top temple dedicated to the crocodile and falcon gods. Return to the ship and continue sailing down the Nile toward Edfu. Here, board a horse-drawn carriage for the drive through Edfu to the Temple of Horus. Sail overnight toward Luxor via the Esna lock (closed December 1-15: slight changes to the itinerary may occur). (B,L,D)

Day 11 Mon. NILE CRUISE A morning to relax on board and enjoy the splendid scenery as you arrive in Luxor. After lunch, focus on the Valley of Kings situated on the West Bank of the Nile. Visit Deir el-Bahri, Queen Hatshepsut’s monumental rock temple, and take pictures of the two Colossi of Memnon guarding the valleys. Later, visit the Temple of Luxor by night. (B,L,D)

"Luxor" by Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com

Day 12 Tue. NILE CRUISE. LUXOR, (DISEMBARKATION)-CAIRO Today, visit the colossal Temple of Amon Ra in Karnak before your flight to Cairo for an overnight. (B)

25 Responses to “Photography Tour to Egypt – November 5th, 2010”

Deborah Gaffney

Hi,
I’d love to go on this Egypt tour including the Nile cruise. However I heard that the Christians and the Muslims are actively fighting @ 40 miles from Luxor. What if anything do you know about that and is there any security for travelers ?
thanks.

Yes, as I understand it there is security on these tours. It is only the optional cruise part that would get close to Nagaa Hamadi. The land part is about 650kms away. But I will double check with the tour agency.

This sounds like a phenomenal tour! Egypt is a vibrant city that offers a wonderful travel experience and will add lots of color to photographs. As for the safety issue, we have spent over two months traveling in Egypt and never once had a problem.

Mahmoud osama

Hello to you all
My name is Mr. Mahmoud Osama 42 yrs, Muslim from Cairo, Egypt
Have been working in the travel industry since 1987 starting from messenger, tour leader, Tour operator, and group coordinator & tourism manager
First i would like to thank you all for your planed visit to tour & photograph our beautiful country
Egypt, and its touristic cities Alexandria the pearl of the Mediterranean Sea, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Hurghada & Sharm El sheikh are wonderful places to visit and tour, with common feature of safety and welcoming faces for all the travelers.
Christians are about 9 % of Egypt’s total population 80+ million inheritance we are all living by the Nile average of 5% to 7% of 1.00 million square kilometers the space of all Egypt
Both Christians and Muslims have been in unity for decades as both have contributed in identifying the modern Egyptian History,
Christians & Copts are our business colleagues & partners, Friends & Neighbors we are all living together in peace
One last thing regarding Photographing Egyptian monuments
Cameras are treated individually and there is a charge extra to be added for each Monuments in addition to another extra charge for entering a special area within, the Egyptian Museum for example will charge you for the camera average EGP 10.00 per camera and extra charge for the special area where they have the King Tut relics, + EGP 100 same will apply in Aswan & Luxor
Flash lights may not be allowed due to Flash light will erase a fraction of the magnificent colors of the pharos so in order to preserve the 5000 years colors they do prohibit flash lights
One USD currently = 05.50 Egyptian Pounds

Hope I have added some knowledge about Egypt and you are always welcome
Thanks and best regards
Mahmoud Osama

Neil Kristianson

Chris,
We are seriously considering joining you in the fall. Egypt has always been in Jennine’s top 3.

A couple of questions:
What is the maximum number of guests allowed on the tour?
Do you know which hotel we will be staying at in Marsa – Matruh S. Giovanni Cleopatra or Jaz Almaza Beach Resort? (Very different ratings on these two)
Do we need to be photo geeks? Or will my basic idiot-proof camera and non-artistic ability combined with my naive enthusiasm do the trick?

Thanks for putting this together. It has given us something to think about.

Neil Kristianson

Jim Yousef

I’m an Egyptian born Canadian who has visited a number of times. Although Mahmoud claims all to be safe, I have had at least one incident on each of my trips. Nothing major, but make sure to have visible and experienced security with you (pay them well so that they are not bribeable) and lock your valuables, especially if you are Christian and on the Nile. There is still regular violence against the Christians and Jews there, but if you stay at the hotels, you are typically not in harms way.

All major tourist attractions have a double price system – one for locals and a more expensive one for tourists. A good guide will navigate this where possible.

We traveled with a former police officer once, and he made sure that things were well taken care of and incidents were quickly and effectively dealt with. One incident included some of our women and some sexual harassment at sharm el sheikh. He made a call and within an 90 minutes we had our own stretch of beach to use, protected by heavily armed local police.

This is after all a Muslim country and you may need to respect some laws and customs that you may not be familiar with. Like any overpopulated country, be careful and you will be fine.

It is a spectacular piece of this world with more history than most… almost too much to take in during one trip. Definitely a bucket list to do, just be careful.

Ahmad

Chris,
This sounds amazing. I already live in Alexandria, and was wondering if I can joing you guys during these two days. I am new to professional photography but I own a Canon DSLR 7D. What is your planned photo activities during the time in Egypt?

Ahmad, I forgot to answer you other question about what we will be doing with the photo activities. Ralph will be doing hands on instruction with photography and I will be doing hands on instruction with what to do with the photos on your computer after you take them.

enid

I am very interested in joining you. Are there spots open? What is the single supplement?

My Nikon SLR was stolen a couple of months ago and, after careful research, I replaced it with a Canon G11 — lighter for travel, manual options, underwater capacity and pretty good quality. I am very interested in getting better.

enid

I would love to have you along. I can’t speak authoritatively about how they feel about Jews but they were the first country in the region to make peace and recognize Israel so I have heard relations are OK.

The single supplement for the base tour is $290 and for the tour with the cruise it is $430 (I am not sure there are still cabins available for the cruise part).

I think there are still places on the land trip and will check.

enid

I was in Cairo a number of years ago and it is definitely one of the worlds great and must visit cities. I have always been meaning to get myself back there. Wish I could find the time to get on a tour like this…